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Hospitalizations in the United States due to Covid-19 continued to decline and new reported cases were at levels last seen in late October, although weather conditions are affecting vaccination efforts in parts of the country. country.
Data communication was also likely affected by winter storms.
The United States reported 69,228 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Thursday’s tally was similar to the previous day’s revised total of 70,188, which, while still high, is well below peak levels reported earlier this year.
A total of 62,300 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in the United States on Thursday, the sixth day in a row, the figure is less than 70,000, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The number of people requiring treatment in intensive care units due to the disease also fell, to 13,045, the lowest level since November 12.
Even with those declines, health officials warned that the numbers remained high and that new variants, spreading rapidly in the United States, could offset the gains.
The death toll in the country rose by 2,558 for Thursday, the total topping 493,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
Federal officials, meanwhile, predict widespread delays in vaccine shipments and deliveries over the next few days due to inclement weather sweeping the U.S. Weather conditions have affected operations at FedEx Corp.’s facilities in Memphis, Tennessee, and United Parcel Service Inc. in Louisville, Ky., both of which are vaccination centers for several states, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Many vaccination and testing sites across Texas closed over the weekend and earlier in the week, according to local health officials, and some have yet to resume operations. Mississippi’s free Covid-19 testing sites were closed Thursday and nearly all state-run vaccination sites were closed, according to the Department of Health.
Despite the disruptions in some states, the rollout of immunization across much of the country has progressed. More than 57.7 million shots were administered Thursday morning, including more than 16 million second doses, according to the CDC.
According to data released Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, cases of Covid-19 in nursing homes continue to decline rapidly – a sign that widespread vaccination in facilities is starting to have an impact.
The 5,672 coronavirus infections reported among nursing home residents in the week ended February 7 marked the seventh consecutive week of decline, up from 33,601 in the week ended December 20, the data showed. The most recent number was significantly lower than the week before and represented the lowest weekly total of cases ever reported in federal data, which dates back to May. However, the last week of federal data is periodically revised in subsequent releases. Data are taken from a survey of nursing homes.
Globally, more than 110 million people have tested positive for the virus, and the worldwide death toll exceeds 2.4 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
In a virtual meeting with G-7 leaders on Friday, President Biden will announce a total of $ 4 billion in U.S. contributions to the international Covax program, administration officials said, directly engaging the country in the efforts. global organizations to provide Covid-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest. countries.
In a call with reporters Thursday, senior administration officials said Mr Biden would announce an initial investment of $ 2 billion and call on other countries to join the World Organization’s immunization effort. health and strengthen their commitments. The Biden administration said the initial contribution would come from funding allocated by Congress in December, which is expected to be disbursed by the end of the month.
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